


Room 22A

by undercovercarisi



Category: Law & Order: SVU
Genre: AU, Friends to Lovers, M/M, Original Female Characters - Freeform, Original Male Characters - Freeform, Slow Burn, Teacher AU, rafael and sonny are teachers
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-04-19
Updated: 2019-04-21
Packaged: 2020-01-16 06:47:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,087
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18516097
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/undercovercarisi/pseuds/undercovercarisi
Summary: Rafael Barba is a grumpy high school english teacher who has little patience for his students while his coworker, Sonny Carisi, is a ball of sunshine that tries to draw the class in with interesting history subjects. The students all know of their playful rivalry and decide it is time to take it into their own hands to try and set up their teachers because everyone can feel the tension between them. Rafael pretends not to notice, but his feelings seem to think that he should side with his students for once.





	1. Pen and Paper

**Author's Note:**

> Characters and Subjects (MORE TO BE ADDED AS STORY PROGRESSES):  
> Sonny-History  
> Rafael-English

“Good Morning, Mr. Carisi!” 

The chirp of the voice had Sonny turning around from where he was writing on the board. He twirled the black marker in his fingers, glancing at the student who had just come through the door. 

“Good morning Elle,” Sonny turned back to what he was writing.

His class was slowly filling with students. The classroom was set up in a little U around the board so they could all see their teacher’s writing on the board. Sonny glanced back at the classroom where a few students scattered around the room waiting for the bells to ring. Sonny set down his marker before heading for his desk. He sat down behind his computer, typing out the rest of the powerpoint for notes.

History courses were always a pain to teach- since students weren’t occupied with learning about feudalism or expansion. Sonny loved it though. He was a tenth and eleventh grade history teacher- minoring in a collection of economics, civics, and geography. He was happy with his career and he wouldn’t change it for the world.    
Sonny looked up as the sound of dress shoes approached his door. Mr. Barba- Rafael- stood in front of his doorway. He held a steaming mug of coffee, a piece of paper in his hand.

“Did you take my copies?” Rafael snipped without heat.

“Did you take my copies-” Sonny mimicked in a higher pitched voice, flipping through the stack of copies on his desk.

Rafael had been teaching English across the hall for the past few years. He had been at the school for two years longer than Sonny. Sonny had come into the empty classroom across from Rafael’s and formed a sorta friendship and a game among each other to roast the hell out of each other on sight. Rafael and Sonny had created a long term game of pranking each other and messing with one another. The students had always enjoyed watching and the students had definitely caught onto their little game- even realizing that Sonny had a slight crush on the older man. 

Rafael walked into the room, setting his coffee on the desk. He slid the papers onto his hand, flipping through until he found his copies below Sonny’s. He gave Sonny a small frown, shaking his head.

“Do you want to start this again?” Rafael tucked his papers under his arm, gathering his coffee into his hands.

“I always want to start this.”

Their pranks always seemed relatively harmless. Sonny had once covered each poster in Rafael’s room with one of his own photos of himself. He had hidden little cut out pieces of his head since it had been gone so quick. Rafael had retaliated with taking each pencil in Sonny’s room and replacing it with a crayon. They both bounced back and forth with jokes and teasing.

Rafael turned from his place and made his way back to his classroom.

 

The rest of the day went smoothly. Sonny and Rafael didn’t pass each other much, instead opting to hide out in their rooms to get done with grading. Sonny hadn’t seen Rafael until three thirty when the students left. Rafael waltzed into Sonny’s classroom with a stack of papers and his own desk chair. Sonny looked up from his worksheets, tucking his pen behind his ear.

“Do you want to grade together? I have some punctuation worksheets for my tenth graders that I need to go over.” Rafael asked, already planting himself in front of the desk.

“Make yourself at home.” Sonny slid around things on the desk until it was clear enough for both of them.

Silence settled around the two of them. Sonny’s heart pitter-pattered in his chest, wondering if Rafael had caught onto him yet. It wasn’t as if it was a big secret. Rafael and Sonny had been bantering back and forth for years. Sonny, single and openly bisexual, had developed such a crush on Rafael that he was burying deep in his chest. Sonny had to admit- he wasn’t quite sure what Rafael’s dating status was or his sexuality, and frankly, he was too scared to ask. Sonny’s eyes wandered from the papers to Rafael.

They had made it through another day of high school students- that was enough for both of them. Romance could take a backseat as long as Sonny had his time to work on his students and help when available. He was to enamored with his job to think about Rafael and dating. Sonny tapped his pen against the desk, letting out a little sigh. 

Maybe some other time, their romance would bud but for tonight, Sonny was happy with just sitting here and working together on grading.


	2. Staff Meeting and Ruined Feelings

There were a few things that Rafael knew about Mr. Carisi, his coworker across the hall;

  1. Sonny Carisi was an overeager history teacher who talked too loud and interrupted his english classes with his own ranting of different historical events.
  2. Sonny had a love of baking; something that Rafael had learned about around Christmas. Sonny had slipped a fresh loaf of bread onto Rafael’s desk between classes. Rafael had learned later that day that a various collection of baked goods had ended up on other teachers desks; cinnamon rolls for Ms. Rollins, strawberry tarts for Ms. Benson, and cannoli for Mr. Tutuola.  
  3. Students adored Mr. Carisi. Rafael had heard the whispers in the hallway from students and there never seemed to be a bad thing said about him. Rafael had heard enough students complain about the different teachers in the building to know who was well liked and who wasn’t.
  4. Sonny Carisi was bisexual. To anyone else, this didn’t seem like too big of a deal but to Rafael it was important. He had conflicting feelings about Sonny. Sonny was a charmer with an infectious laugh but also he was an annoyance who often messed with Rafael.



Rafael leaned against the wall in front of his classroom, sipping on the coffee in his hand. Sonny was standing across the hall, greeting students in his chipper voice. Rafael rolled his eyes at the mug in his hand. Sonny was too excited for the day and Rafael was not having it this early. Their hallway was bustling with students who made their way to their classes.

Rafael had gone into teaching with intentions of spending his days with literature and writing while having the ability to expand young minds. Every day didn’t seem like that. Some days Rafael felt like putting in a movie and grading long overdue essays for students. Today seemed like one of those days. Rafael felt exhausted.

The shrill bell broke Rafael from his thoughts. He made his way into the classroom, instead preparing to teach grammar for students who thought they knew all the tricks of writing Rafael through himself into the powerpoint, watching students scribble down the notes.

Midway through the spiel of comma usage during class, Sonny burst into the classroom door, a wide smile on his lips. Sonny met Rafael’s confused look. Sonny walked behind Rafael’s desk, plopping himself in his chair and opening the drawers in search of something.

“Can I help you Mr. Carisi?” Rafael asked, letting out a loud huff.

“Nope, keep teaching Mr. Barba.” Sonny said cheerily, as if he hadn’t been disrupting the classroom.

Rafael rolled his eyes. He knew Sonny had prep right now, leaving him with nothing to do as long as he had done whatever he had left. Sonny leaned back slightly in the chair, putting his feet up on the desk. Rafael pulled himself back into the conversation but the students were more interested in Sonny, who had pulled a piece of candy out of Rafael’s own secret stash. 

Rafael turned to look at Sonny, shaking his head. He walked over to the chair. 

“Move, you teach this since you want to be such a distraction.” Rafael snipped in his best teacher voice.

Sonny bounced out of the chair over to the smartboard. Sonny started with rambling about anything other than the notes that Rafael was trying to teach. The bell rang again, signaling the end of class.

“Have a good weekend! Make sure to do your homework!” Rafael called after the flood of students.

Sonny gave a small smile, glancing at Rafael, “Are you coming out to the meeting today? I think Liv’s bring pizza.” 

“Yeah I’ll be there.” Rafael shrugged.

“Awesome!  Save me a seat by you!” Sonny said as a goodbye before disappearing out of the classroom.

 

Rafael sank into the chairs in the conference room. Most of the teachers were already hanging around the room. Rafael left the seat on his right open for Sonny. Olivia placed herself next to him. Olivia Benson taught math down the hall from Sonny and Rafael. Rafael was familiar with her since she had been the one to get him his job. The two of them had become pretty close. She had often been the mediator between debates that rose from Sonny and Rafael on days where they felt particularly feisty at lunch.

“How are things going with Sonny?” Olivia asked, glancing over at Rafael.

“Excuse me?” Rafael looked up, confused.

Rafael had felt like his conflicting feelings were so deeply hidden. He hadn’t told anyone. Maybe he had slipped up? His annoying coworker had been the object of his affection for so long. He was trying his hardest not to tell anyone. 

“Well I had one of your students today and they were talking about the ‘heart eyes’ you were giving Mr. Carisi today during your lesson.” Olivia said with a warm laugh.

“That sounds ridiculous Olivia. I do not have a thing for Sonny.” Rafael rolled his eyes. 

The conference room door opened and Sonny came in with Amanda. Amanda was showing off pictures on her phone. Pictures of her newest baby, Rafael assumed. Amanda had returned from maternity leave a few weeks ago. Amanda sat in the empty seat across from Rafael and Olivia. Rafael’s eyes followed Sonny until he plopped down next to them.

“Did you hear from the students that Rafael supposedly has a crush on me?” Sonny asked, letting out a laugh.

“As if,” Rafael muttered, trying to suppress the blush that was rising.

Sonny’s face dropped- although too quick for anyone to notice- and he just gave a quick laugh. Rafael turned from Sonny, instead opting to look towards the Principal. Their boss started going over the next few weeks of work. Sonny sparred a glance to Amanda who gave him a small sympathetic smile. Maybe he was just getting his hopes up.


	3. Scheming and Starters

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for the amazing feedback on this fic! Chapter 4 is going to be pretty long so please be patient for the update!

“Amanda you heard him at the meeting, didn’t you? He literally just said  _ as if  _ to him liking me in some sort of romantic way. What if he wasn’t joking? What if he seriously will never even entertain the thought of being with me.”  Sonny leaned his head back against her couch, trying to process his thoughts logically, “Maybe i’m not his type. Do you think that's it?” 

Amanda raised her eyebrow, glancing over at her friend. It wasn’t a rare occurrence that Sonny came to her apartment and spent hours with her. He often came for the kids- Amanda had to admit it was a blessing. She knew he missed his own nieces and nephews so hanging with Jesse and the brand new baby was enough for him to feel comfortable. Speaking of, Sonny was perfectly fine wallowing in self-pity while Jesse used him as a jungle gym. Amanda was feeding her newborn, watching.

“Sonny we both know Rafael. If it’s not in a book, he won’t entertain it. Couldn’t you just go and date someone else? What about the business teacher? What’s his name-” Amanda shifted the swaddled newborn, “Stone. That’s it. Peter Stone. He seems nice enough.”

Sonny gave a small frown, turning to occupy himself with Jesse while he had the chance. Some nights it was nice to go hang out with his friend after work. It was rare that Sonny really hung out with anyone outside of work that wasn’t his family. After Amanda had her baby, Sonny had been a little apprehensive to come over since he didn’t want to put pressure on her. Sonny scooped up Jesse, attacking her with tickles as she burst into a fit of laughter. Sonny was trying to pretend this was fine. He had to remind himself he wasn’t a high school student who was crushing on someone. He was an adult now. Relationships were categorized in so many different ways. There was dating, hooking up, just friends, friends with benefits. Sonny wasn’t sure how to navigate that way. It felt like it had been forever since he was actually dating.

“Stop worrying so much Sonny. Something will happen whether its for the best or worst.” Amanda said sympathetically.

Elle and Grayson were two students who attended a small public school in Manhattan. They were close friends with an interesting skill in meddling in people’s lives. They were currently on that track and if any teachers had noticed, they weren’t saying a thing. 

They had one mission: get Mr. Carisi and Mr. Barba together.

Their fascination with the topic had come from a few times that they had seen the two teachers together. Elle and Grayson had decided that the two of them were made for each other. Operation Barisi had risen slowly from two students with a mind for romance.

 

Sonny sat perched on the edge of his desk, watching his students debate feudalism and the way it impacted different places. Sonny tapped his fingers against his leg, glancing out into the hallway. Music came out of Rafael’s hallway, floating across the empty halls. Sonny stood up off his desk. He walked over to the door, pulling it shut. He had been pulling away from Rafael. He wondered what Rafael truly thought of him. Sonny had been too worried over something that seemed to be unprovoked.

Elle’s ears perked up as the door shut. She had been taking notes on the discussion in front of her. She cocked her eyebrow, watching the door click shut. There was only a few times that Mr. Carisi actually closed his door unprovoked. Elle pulled her phone from it’s spot under her thigh. She found Grayson’s contact, typing quickly.

**To Gray;**

**Mr. Carisi just shut his door?? Usually hes listening to the music**

**From Gray;**

**Weird?? Move onto plan a**

Elle slid her phone back under her leg, deciding to move forward with their plan. Their discussion had died out as the time approached the end of the class period. Mr. Carisi sank down behind the desk, pulling out his own phone. Elle decided it was time to move in. She was supposed to lead Mr. Carisi in the right direction while Grayson handled Mr. Barba.

“Mr. Carisi,” Elle started, gathering Mr. Carisi’s attention, “Could you help us out with an event on Wednesday? We have to do some set up with the debate club for an upcoming event.”

Sonny pursed his lips, trying to do a mental check of his calendar, “I think I can do that Elle. Thank you for asking. I’ll be there.”

Elle gave him a smile in lieu of a thanks before going back to her seat. Step one complete.

 

Grayson had been approaching his side delicately. Mr. Barba was a difficult man to read and most people thought he was a ticking time bomb. Grayson thought he was just a high strung man who didn’t belong with the idiots of his classes. 

He scribbled down answers on the reading guide, sighing softly. The Great Gatsby wasn’t the most entertaining thing on his mind when a scheme was brewing with his best friend. Grayson looked through the lens of his glasses, watching Mr. Barba. The man worked like a machine as he graded through papers. Grayson was realizing that Elle was right. Someone needed to bring Rafael something other than work. 

Grayson gathered his papers and book before trekking over to the desk. He planted himself on the stool next to Rafael’s desk. It had been set up specifically for the students. Mr. Barba looked up from his papers.

“Yes, Mr. Stuart?” Mr. Barba asked, placing his pen on the table.

“Can you explain this a little more to me? How can Gatsby long for someone so close without acting on it immediately? Why does Nick have to piece it all together?” Grayson asked.

“Sometimes the closest things to us are the hardest to reach-” Grayson caught Rafael glance at the door, “Gatsby is more than willing to jump for Daisy. You just have to read into the fact of social status and money during this time. Think of it in a 1920’s standpoint- not 2019.”

Grayson nodded, scribbling down what Rafael said, “Thank you Mr. Barba.”

He stood, gathering everything under his arm. Rafael grabbed his pen, starting to mark the papers quickly. Grayson hovered for another minute.

“Mr. Barba, if you’re free on wednesday, could you come help with an event for tennis? It’ll be in the gym. Mrs. Benson is going to be busy that day.” Grayson suggested.

Mrs. Benson- who seemed to be close with Mr. Barba- was the tennis coach. She was a badass coach who put her team first. Mr. Barba thought for a minute before nodding. 

“I’ll fill in wherever you need me.”

 

Grayson set his tray down on the table a little louder than intended. The group at their table had turned to look at him. He placed himself next to Elle, nudging her shoulder.

“We have them both showing up to the gym now. They’ll be there on wednesday at four.” Grayson smiled.

“Plan A is working out. We just have to figure out what we’ll do to get them to stay there and eventually end up together. Anyone looking at them would realize that they should be together.” Elle waved her hand in the air, swishing the conversation forward.

Another girl near them perked up, “you could set up a date. Something romantic like in a movie. We could host a dinner for the two of them.”

Elle and Grayson exchanged a look, nodding. This would be easier than expected. They were going to start piecing together something to push their teachers together. It was only a matter of time before someone noticed the longing looks between the teachers. This was what they needed.

Operation Barisi was about to be in full effect.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've decided to make this into a five part series but I am always willing to write little snippets or continuations after it is finished since teacher Sonny and teacher Rafael are some of my favorites to write! You can request pieces from this AU on my tumblr @undercovercarisi


End file.
